Question

Sex determination in chicken is done when they are _______________
A. One day old
B. Three day old
C. One week old
D. Ten day old

Answer 1

Hint: Poultry farming is done to raise chickens either for meat or for eggs. Females are reared for eggs and meat but males or unhealthy females are slaughtered or culled. As soon as the eggs are laid in-ovo sex determination can be done. Even after the eggs are hatched, the hatchlings are observed to sort them according to their gender.

Complete answer:
One can differentiate male chicks from female chicks by looking at their heads. The heads of male chicks are lighter in color and usually have a white or yellow spot on top whereas that of the female chicks are darker with darker spots or stripes on their heads.
Sexing of chicks is done by two methods – vent sexing and feather sexing. Feather sexing is done in which the length of feathers is measured to identify the sex of chicks. If the primary feathers are longer than the covert feathers, then the chick is female. But if they are of the same length, or the primaries are shorter than the coverts, then the chick is male. Vent sexing is done by holding the chicks in hand and squeezing out the feces from their bodies. In doing so the cloaca opens up and the anal vent can be observed. If a small bump is observed, the chick is identified as male in the absence of which it can be identified as female.
Sex determination and sorting of chicks are done on one-day-old chicks.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: Chick culling is the process of separating and disposing of unwanted male or unhealthy female chicks as they cannot be used to lay eggs or can’t grow large enough to become broilers.